Recently Li has focused on accessories, specifically socks are central to their outfits.
Li always hopes to not fall into a specific “formula” to create their outfits, instead they want to continue to be experimentive with color, contours, and patterns.
Pairing chunky white platform boots, a baby blue two-piece, and an edgy leather jacket, Jess Li ’24 focuses on building color contrast when picking out their outfits. Elevating the look with silver crescent and star earrings, Li often focuses on the accessories.
“I’ve realized in the past two year more of what I’ve become drawn to has been looking for ways to style distinct items of clothing in terms of color and pattern and something I have been trying to do more recently is accessorize more and I think the socks or picking intentional socks that aren’t just white or black or gray is something that I started doing,” said Li.
Because of their gravitation towards unique colors and fun statement pieces, Li feels that their style naturally stays creative throughout the week. Before Andover, however, Li attended a school with a strict dress code, so they didn’t always have this colorful style. Now, they construct their eclectic wardrobe from a wide range of sources, from online retailers to clothes from their sister.
“I think my style is a weird mish-mash because I went to a uniform school for ten years so going to boarding school, the clothes that I had were just clothes that I randomly bought the week before I arrived or clothes that I took from my sister that she didn’t want anymore. Because I style articles of clothing that I get from my sister or my mom, or pieces that I buy on my own, I think my style varies a lot, so I don’t know how to describe it as one aesthetic,” said Li.
Chloe Rhee ’24, a close friend of Li’s, emphasized how Li’s outfits energize those around them with their vibrant visual elements. Rhee noted that Li’s outfits are always exciting, incorporating intentional patterns, shapes, and motifs, from their jewelry down to their socks.
“The way that Jess dresses and the colors that they’re able to use in every single outfit is such a testament to their personality, because they’re so bubbly and there’s always something exciting… Something that I personally think is crucial to Jess’s style is the makeup that they use. Their makeup is incredible, and it also is very much in line with how they dress,” said Rhee.
Li also cited queer trends and androgynous styles as fashion inspirations. Diversifying makeup and hairstyles are a few elements through which Li reflects their vibrant personality. They serve as a means of not only showcasing their individuality, but also communicating their evolving identity.
“For a long time, I’ve been dying [my hair] a lot of different colors. So most recently I had the ends dyed bright red, but before that, in the spring, I had blue, and I’ve also done green, purple, pink. Sometimes that can be a little strange with my wardrobe because it might clash with the colors I am wearing on a certain day, but I also feel like I wouldn’t recognize myself without some form of dyed hair… I think a lot of my self-expression has to do with color, not just in what I wear…and I like having things in my life that have color so I enjoy using my fashion and how I dress as another outlet for that,” said Li.
Looking ahead, Li hopes to experiment with even more novel ways of dressing. They hope to push themself to forego more routine outfit patterns for newer styles; newer modes of self-expression.
“I think my goal for the future is to develop a very wide range for the way I dress because I think as the way I dress has developed, sometimes I find myself sticking to a formula for convenience, so I want to learn to break out of that formula more and still be able to find ways to express myself and how I dress,” said Li.
